North Korea fired a missile that failed immediately after launch. SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: North Korea fired a missile that failed immediately after launch early on Thursday, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said, hours after the two countries agreed to step up efforts to counter the North’s nuclear and missile threats. The missile was believed to be an intermediate-range Musudan and was launched from the western city of Kusong, where the isolated... 

When it comes to questions of war and peace, it often seems as if there are two Barack Obamas. There’s the president who has anguished, often publicly, over the morality of killing and the costs of combat. “No matter how justified, war promises human tragedy,” Obama said just days after his 2009 decision to send 30,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Barack Obama has been uneasy with large-scale deployments of US troops. Then there’s...